Pope Francis on Friday slammed two US presidential candidates for what he called anti-life policies on abortion and immigration, advising American Catholics to choose which they believe is the “lesser evil” in the upcoming US elections.
“Both those who expel migrants and those who kill babies are against life,” Pope Francis said.
The pope, a Jesuit from Argentina, was asked to offer advice to American Catholic voters at a press conference on a plane returning to Rome from a four-country tour of Asia, but he stressed that he is not American and has no intention of voting.
Neither Republican candidate Donald Trump nor Democratic candidate Kamala Harris were mentioned by name.
But when asked for his opinion on abortion and immigration, which are hot-button issues in the US presidential election and of great concern to the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis expressed his views in strong terms.
Pope Francis has made the plight of migrants a priority as papacy and has spoken out forcefully and frequently on the issue, and while he strongly supports the church’s teaching against abortion, he has not emphasized it as much as his predecessor.
Pope Francis said migration is a biblical right and that those who do not follow the biblical call to welcome strangers are committing a “grave sin.”
He also spoke openly about abortion.
“Abortion is killing a human being. Whether you like the word or not, it’s murder,” he said. “We have to be very clear about that.”
Asked what American voters should do at the polls, the Pope said voting is a civic duty. “People should vote and choose the better option,” he said. “Is the better option a woman or a man? I don’t know.”
“Everyone should think and act according to their conscience,” he said.
This is not the first time the pope has spoken out about a US election. In the run-up to the 2016 election, he was asked about Trump’s plans to build a wall on the US-Mexico border. He declared at the time that anyone who built a wall to keep out immigrants was “not Christian.”
In his response on Friday, Pope Francis recalled celebrating Mass at the U.S.-Mexico border, where “there were many shoes belonging to migrants who suffered terrible experiences there.”
Trump is promising mass deportations, just as he did during his first presidential campaign, when there was a huge disconnect between his ambitions and the legal, financial and political realities of such an undertaking.
Meanwhile, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said in its published voter advice that abortion is a “top priority” for Catholics in the U.S. Harris is a strong advocate of abortion rights and has emphasized her support for restoring federal abortion rights.
In his comments, the Pope added: “Regarding abortion, science shows that one month after conception, all the organs of a human being are already present – all of them. To perform an abortion is to kill a human being. Whether you like the word or not, it is murder. You cannot say that the Church is closed because it does not allow abortion. The Church does not allow abortion because abortion is murder. It is murder.”
But during the first few weeks of pregnancy, the process of cells developing into organs is just beginning. All major organs aren’t formed until the 13th week, or three months, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. For example, cardiac tissue begins to form in the first two months, initially tubular and then evolving into the four ventricles that define the heart.
Winfield is a contributor to The Associated Press. AP The religious report the and tThe Conversation US is funded by the Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
